Dyan McAlister

Chief Financial and Strategy Officer
Presbyterian Senior Living
Dillsburg, PA
  • 41-A. The ABCs of Credit Ratings: A Guide for Life Plan Communities

    • Sunday, November 02, 2025

    1:00 – 2:00 p.m.

    41-A. The ABCs of Credit Ratings: A Guide for Life Plan Communities

    Life plan community leaders, financial officers, and strategic planners must have a solid understanding of credit ratings before they can help their organizations secure financing on favorable terms. During this session, Fitch Ratings, along with a diverse panel of providers from multi-site and single-site communities will present an overview of credit ratings, explain how to obtain one, and offer guidance on incorporating credit rating considerations into your strategic planning. You’ll receive tips for aligning capital projects and funding needs with your community’s credit profile, identifying and mitigating risks that could negatively impact your rating, and implementing practices that enhance credit strength. Prepare to improve your community’s credit profile and secure the resources necessary for growth and sustainability.

  • 107-B. Crisis and Issue Management: Best Practices for Senior Living

    • Sunday, November 02, 2025

    2:45 – 3:45 p.m.

    107-B. Crisis and Issue Management: Best Practices for Senior Living

    The dynamic and high-stakes nature of senior living environments requires robust strategies for crisis and issue management. This session, designed for senior living executives and legal compliance professionals, will explore best practices for navigating scenarios that can threaten operational stability, reputational integrity, and regulatory compliance. Presenters will offer practical insights into managing crises, including data privacy breaches and ransomware attacks. Participants will engage in an interactive game-show-like format to address scenarios involving regulatory scrutiny, media pressure, and internal investigations. Learn how to minimize liability and safeguard organizational trust while preserving confidentiality in privileged communications, managing relationships with third-party vendors, and addressing allegations of workplace misconduct.

Lisa McCracken

Head of Research, Analytics
National Investment Center for the Seniors Housing & Care Industry (NIC)
Annapolis, MD, USA
  • 50-G. The Senior Living Imperative: Prepare for Sustained Growth

    • Tuesday, November 04, 2025

    8:30 – 9:30 a.m.

    50-G. The Senior Living Imperative: Prepare for Sustained Growth

    Senior living providers are experiencing unprecedented demand for housing and services from a changing consumer base. Providers can respond most effectively by identifying and capitalizing on new growth opportunities. During this session, experts from the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care, NIC MAP, and Greystone will discuss relevant analytics and research findings related to market absorption, occupancy rates, and revenue growth in the senior living sector. Presenters will identify markets poised for expansion, help you assess financial performance and growth opportunities, and show you how to act on data trends and market dynamics to prepare your organization for sustainable growth. You’ll acquire the tools and insights to transform today’s market complexities into tomorrow’s successes.

  • 77-E. Positioning Senior Living in a Value-Based Care Environment

    • Monday, November 03, 2025

    3:00 – 4:00 p.m.

    77-E. Positioning Senior Living in a Value-Based Care Environment

    Recent research suggests that senior living residents experience lower mortality rates and fewer hospitalizations than their peers in the broader community. This session will explore what these research findings suggest about the growing value of the housing and care provided to older adults living in congregate settings. Presenters will discuss the role that senior living organizations play in delivering integrated solutions for chronic disease management and proactive well-care. They will also detail integrated housing and care models that offer preventive services while boosting resident satisfaction, improving healthcare outcomes, and providing financial incentives to senior living providers. You’ll gain insights into the role of data in positioning your community to participate in value-based care.

Carol McKinley

President & CEO
Simpson
Bala Cynwyd, PA, USA
  • 69-L. Are You Wasting Money on Marketing? Assessing Your Blind Spots

    • Wednesday, November 05, 2025

    11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

    69-L. Are You Wasting Money on Marketing? Assessing Your Blind Spots

    “Half my marketing budget is being wasted: But which half?” If you’ve ever asked yourself that question, this session is for you. Presenters will address the critical blind spots many organizations experience when evaluating their marketing budgets. They’ll provide tips to help you confidently assess and improve marketing performance at every level while unlocking growth opportunities, boosting sales, eliminating wasteful spending on underperforming tactics, and crafting marketing messages that resonate in competitive markets. You’ll learn how to align your marketing plan with your broader strategic goals and ensure accountability within your sales and marketing teams. Take home tools to achieve better returns on your marketing investment by amplifying what works well and adjusting what doesn’t.

Gerron McKnight

Board Member
The Christ Hospital Transitional Care Center SNF
Cincinnati, OH, United States

Sara McVey

CEO
Sequoia Living
San Francisco, CA, USA
  • 95-F. Your Wellness Strategy: Aligning Operations with Expectations

    • Monday, November 03, 2025

    4:30 – 5:30 p.m.

    95-F. Your Wellness Strategy: Aligning Operations with Expectations

    Many older adults are seeking a senior living community that will foster their physical, emotional, and social well-being. Will your community meet their expectations? This session will provide valuable guidance to help you integrate the concepts of wellness and well-being into your mission to support resident satisfaction, longevity, and purpose. Presenters will help you understand how innovative approaches to promoting wellness can position your organization as the preferred choice for older adults looking for a vibrant and supportive living environment. Hear from senior living operators who have created vibrant communities that cater to the whole person. You’ll take home practical strategies for aligning your operations with evolving consumer expectations to ensure your organization’s long-term success.

  • 148-H. How to Cultivate a Culture of Growth and Inclusivity

    • Tuesday, November 04, 2025

    3:00 – 4:00 p.m.

    148-H. How to Cultivate a Culture of Growth and Inclusivity

    Studying the characteristics of senior living communities with healthy organizational cultures can help providers shape thriving workplaces of their own. This session will showcase how a two-year workforce-strengthening initiative at San Francisco’s Sequoia Living reduced turnover and enhanced resident satisfaction. Presenters will detail how the initiative encouraged residents and team members to embrace a growth mindset that respectfully challenges the status quo, foster an inclusive environment where all voices are heard, and exercise accountability and care to increase engagement and outcomes. You’ll discover how the initiative reduced Sequoia Living’s turnover to an all-time low of 17% and improved the “culture score” the organization receives from its employees.

Amanda Mead

Director, Workforce Policy
LeadingAge
Washington, DC, USA
  • 114-E. Immigration Policy and the Aging Services Workforce

    • Monday, November 03, 2025

    3:00 – 4:00 p.m.

    114-E. Immigration Policy and the Aging Services Workforce

    Decisions regarding immigration policy have significant implications for the aging services workforce. Join this session to hear a detailed report on recent developments in federal immigration policy and explore how these changes impact the ability of providers to attract and retain essential caregiving talent. An engaging discussion with policy experts will provide a deeper understanding of current federal actions and demonstrate how LeadingAge and its partners are advocating on Capitol Hill to protect and expand the workforce, maintain continuity of care, and support providers as they navigate this complex policy landscape.

  • 121-J. Federal Policy Across the Continuum

    • Wednesday, November 05, 2025

    8:30 – 9:30 a.m.

    121-J. Federal Policy Across the Continuum

    Are you managing multiple service lines across the continuum, or just curious about the broader policy landscape affecting aging services? This session is designed for you. The LeadingAge advocacy team will be on hand to review this year’s federal policy successes and challenges. You’ll gain a clear understanding of key federal legislative and regulatory changes impacting nursing homes, hospice, affordable housing, home health, adult day services, and Medicaid home and community-based services. You’ll also hear the latest updates on legal matters, workforce development, and Medicare Advantage. Don’t miss this opportunity to catch up on 2025’s policy news and prepare for the advocacy initiatives that are expected to emerge in 2026.

Murry Mercier

Senior Living Market Director
PointClickCare
Mississauga, ON, Canada
  • 11-H. Achieve Long-Term Wellness with Real-Time Service Coordination

    • Tuesday, November 04, 2025

    3:00 – 4:00 p.m.

    11-H. Achieve Long-Term Wellness with Real-Time Service Coordination

    Senior living communities aspire to help older residents and clients maintain the highest level of wellness for as long as possible. This session will explore how real-time service coordination can help. Representatives of PointClickCare, a cloud-based healthcare software platform, will describe a technology tool that puts comprehensive information about a resident’s condition into the hands of caregivers so they can recognize and respond swiftly to the first signs of changing needs. Presenters will outline how timely information can help senior living organizations proactively prevent falls, hospitalizations, and move-outs. They will also offer strategies for collaborating with providers of outpatient therapy, home health care, and pharmacy services to improve care coordination.

George Mesires

Partner
Faegre Drinker
Chicago, IL, United States
  • 48-E. Acquisitions and Divestitures: Perspectives on Buying and Selling Assets

    • Monday, November 03, 2025

    3:00 – 4:00 p.m.

    48-E. Acquisitions and Divestitures: Perspectives on Buying and Selling Assets

    The senior living sector has experienced significant growth in acquisitions and affiliations over the past few years. This session will highlight trends in mergers and acquisitions while exploring how for-profit and nonprofit buyers differ in their approaches to valuing assets and implementing ownership changes. You’ll hear the stories of a Dallas-based senior living organization that acquired a senior living community in Fort Worth and a Florida-based multi-site organization that divested several campuses. Get the guidance you need to navigate the acquisition/disposition process, including steps you should take after concluding that certain components of your organization are not contributing value to the enterprise.

Edward Miller

Professor and Chair, Department of Gerontology
UMass Boston Gerontology
Boston, MA, USA
  • 105-A. Nursing Home Quality: The Role of Medicaid Payment Rates

    • Sunday, November 02, 2025

    1:00 – 2:00 p.m.

    105-A. Nursing Home Quality: The Role of Medicaid Payment Rates

    Medicaid is the largest source of funding for nursing home care in the United States. However, the program’s reimbursement rates cover only a portion of nursing homes’ costs. This session will present findings from three studies exploring the relationship between Medicaid payment policies and the quality of care in nursing homes. Presenters will share insights from studies examining how payment rates and payment-to-cost ratios impact nursing homes’ five-star ratings, the connection between Medicaid rates and staffing levels across different ownership types, and how nursing home staffing levels and expenditures relate to their reliance on Medicaid. Don’t miss this opportunity to examine the connection between nursing home quality and Medicaid payment rates.

Andy Miller

Senior Vice President, AARP Innovation Labs
AARP
Washington, DC, USA
  • 1-A. Smart Living Showcase: Bringing Technology to Senior Living

    • Sunday, November 02, 2025

    1:00 – 2:00 p.m.

    1-A. Smart Living Showcase: Bringing Technology to Senior Living

    Imagine owning a television that uses artificial intelligence to provide social connection. You might want eyeglasses that provide real-time captions of your conversations, or a scale that assesses your risk of falling. These and other technology solutions are displayed in a Smart Living Showcase, developed by Asbury Communities in collaboration with the AgeTech Collaborativeu2122 from AARP. Attend this session for an eye-opening overview of how the showcase is helping Asbury investigate emerging technologies and understand older adults’ preferences and readiness to embrace technology. Presenters will guide you through the showcase’s collection, offer tips for implementing technology solutions in senior living, and discuss the impact of technology innovation on market perception and sales.

Mohini Mishra

VP, Senior Communities
Selfhelp Community Services
New York, NY, USA
  • 145-E. How a Trauma-Informed Approach Can Promote Workforce Wellness

    • Monday, November 03, 2025

    3:00 – 4:00 p.m.

    145-E. How a Trauma-Informed Approach Can Promote Workforce Wellness

    Many older Americans will experience at least one traumatic event that affects their physical, mental, and social health. This session will propose that trauma also affects the people who care for older adults, and that a person-centered, trauma-informed (PCTI) approach can enhance the health and well-being of these caregivers. Presenters will describe the implementation of PCTI, highlight the model’s potential to improve workforce wellness, and offer solutions to reduce staff vacancies, decrease turnover, and attract new talent. You’ll take home practical tips for integrating PCTI principles into organizational policies and procedures that benefit team members, care recipients, family caregivers, volunteers, and organizations providing care.

Susie Mix

President/CEO
Mix Solutions, Inc.
Fountain Valley, CA, USA
  • 84-I. Ease the Financial Pressure of Medicare Advantage Contracts

    • Tuesday, November 04, 2025

    4:30 – 5:30 p.m.

    84-I. Ease the Financial Pressure of Medicare Advantage Contracts

    Almost half (48%) of all Medicare Part A spending went to Medicare Advantage plans in 2023. Yet, providers of aging services typically received payments from these plans that were consistently lower than the direct payments they obtained from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. This session will help you alleviate the financial pressures your organization may face due to its Medicare Advantage contracts. Presenters will share a straightforward process to maximize Medicare Advantage reimbursements by effectively managing each resident’s case and accurately billing each health plan. You’ll discover critical operational and financial strategies to help you achieve long-term success as Medicare Advantage contracts become a permanent part of the payer landscape.